Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $64.43 Million in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 273,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,429,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leeward Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 18,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,321,000 after buying an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 14,973 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 17,361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 4,475 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 96.3% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 19,159 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,489,000 after purchasing an additional 9,400 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $237.65 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $256.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.15. The stock has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.